I. ˈhēv verb
( heaved -vd ; or hove ˈhōv ; or dialect hoved ˈhōvd ; heaved or hove or archaic & dialect ho·ven ˈhōvən ; heaving ; heaves )
Etymology: Middle English hebben, heven, from Old English hebban; akin to Old High German heffen, hevan to lift, raise, Old Norse hefja to lift, raise, Gothic hafjan to carry, Latin capere to take, seize, Greek kaptein to gulp down, kōpē handle, Albanian kap I grasp, Sanskrit kapatī two handfuls; basic meaning: grasping
transitive verb
1. obsolete
a. : to raise or exalt in state or feeling
b. : baptize ; also : to stand as sponsor for
c. : to offer or consecrate (a portion of a sacrifice) by symbolically lifting up or separating for special holy use — used of the action of an ancient Israelite priest
2. : to cause to move upward or onward by a lifting effort : lift , raise ; usually : to lift with exertion
the wave heaved the boat on land
3. obsolete : to take up and remove : carry off : take away
4. : throw , cast , toss , hurl
he hove the lead
heaving down the hay
just heave your books on the bed
5.
a. : to utter with obvious effort or with a deep breath that causes the chest to heave visibly
pulled off her shoes and heaved a sigh of relief
b. : vomit
got carsick and heaved his lunch
6.
a. : to cause to swell or rise
the wind heaved the sea into mountainous waves
a spent horse gasping and heaving his chest
b. dialect Britain : to cause bloat in (a ruminant)
sheep are often hoven by a sudden change to lush pasture
c. : to displace (as a mineral vein or a rock stratum) especially by a fault ; usually : to displace laterally or horizontally
7.
a. : to draw, pull, or to haul on (as a rope)
heave in the cable
heave a line
b. : to cause (as a ship or sail) to move or to come into some position by or as if by hauling on a rope either as a means of propulsion or as a means of arranging for a particular kind of action
heave a ship ahead, aback, or in stays
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to rise or become thrown or raised up usually as a result of the action of some external force (as pressure, wind, heat, or frost)
the pavement heaved and buckled in the heat
b. archaic : to rise upward : tower , mount
c. of plants or roots : to rise or become lifted out of the ground usually by alternate freezing and thawing
2. : to make an effort to raise, throw, or move something : strain to do something difficult : labor , struggle
3.
a. : to rise and fall rhythmically or with alternate motions (as of waves, a ship at sea, or the chest in heavy breathing)
waves heaving on a storm-tossed sea
b. : to pant for breath
lay heaving from the strain of his effort
4.
a. : gag , retch
could heave from sheer disgust
his stomach heaved at sight of the mess
b. : vomit — sometimes considered vulgar
5.
a. : to haul or pull (as on a line) or push (as at a capstan) ; specifically : to move a line or chain by the application of force through the interposition of a mechanical device (as a capstan) — compare haul
b. : to cause a ship to move in a specified direction or manner
c. of a ship : to move in an indicated way or direction
the schooner hove alongside
6. chiefly dialect Britain , of livestock : to become bloated
Synonyms: see lift
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- heave in stays
- heave one's gorge
- heave the lead
- heave the log
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : an effort to raise something (as a weight or oneself) or to move something heavy or resistant
each heave on the rope loosened the stump a bit more
b. : an act or instance of throwing : hurl , cast
skimmed the notice and gave it a heave toward the wastebasket
2. : an upward motion : rising ; especially : a rhythmical rising (as of the chest wall in difficult breathing or of the waves)
3.
a. : the horizontal displacement by the faulting of a rock measured in a plane at right angles to the fault strike
b. : frost heave
4. heaves plural but usually singular in construction : chronic pulmonary emphysema of the horse usually associated with asthma, improper diet, or severe overexertion and marked by loss of elasticity of the lungs and distention of the air vesicles resulting in difficult expiration with heaving of the flanks and a persistent cough — called also broken wind